Superelastic and Fire-Retardant Nano-/Microfibrous Sponges for High-Efficiency Warmth Retention

Warmth retention equipment for personal cold protection is highly demanded in freezing weather; however, most present warmth retention materials suffer from high thermal conductivity, weak mechanical properties, and strong flammability, resulting in serious security risks. Herein, we report a facile strategy to fabricate nano-/microfibrous sponges with superelasticity, robust flame retardation, and effective warmth retention performance via direct electrospinning. The three-dimensional fluffy sponges with low volume density and high porosity are constructed by accurately regulating the relative humidity; meanwhile, the mechanically robust polyamide-imide nanofibers with high limit oxygen index (LOI) are innovatively introduced to improve the structural stability and flammability of the nano-/microfibrous sponges. Strikingly, the developed nano-/microfibrous sponges exhibit ultralight characteristics (6.9 mg cm-3), superelasticity (∼0% plastic deformation after 100 compression tests), effective flame retardant with LOI of 26.2%, and good heat preservation ability (thermal conductivity of 24.6 mW m-1 K-1). This work may shed light on designing superelastic and flame-retardant warmth retention materials for various applications.